Asia Leads EurAsia Cup After Day One

The Asian team jumped out to a 3-1/2 to 2-1/2 lead over the European Team at Day One of the Eurasia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM being held at the Glenmarie G&CC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In the two-man competition, the Asians won three matchups outright and halved a fourth. Yuta Ideka and Gavin Green defeated Matthew Fitzpatrick and Thomas Pieters 2&1; Hideto Tanihara and Phachara Khongwatmai defeated Alex Noren and Paul Dunne by 2 holes; and in the biggest upset of the day, Sunghoon Kang and Poom Saksansin defeated Henrik Stenson and Alexander Levy 5&4.

Ironically, the Asian team’s two most prolific two-man teams both suffered defeat on the opening day. Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia fell to Ross Fisher and Tyrrell Hatton 5&4 and Byeong Hun An and Kiradech Aphibarnrat lost to Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey 4 &3.

The tournament will continue with six foursomes tomorrow and then 12 singles matches on Sunday. The first team to 12-1/2 points will win. This is the third meeting in the current format, all three being played in Malaysia.

In 2014, the matchup ended in a 10-10 tie. In 2016, Team Europe routed its opponents by a 18-1/2 to 5-1/2 count.